Vehicle-wheel.



A. SCHIGK. VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED Amm?, 1912.

Patented Oct. 21,1913.

Z SHEETS-SHEET l.

me/whoa; W54/ www@ COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH C0.wAsHlNuTnN, D. C.

A. SGHIGK.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27, 1912.

1,076,239, Patented 0013.21, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ness as tol structural and connected partsy nNIrrnn sraans ramena#onerosi.

Anonrn scIIIcK, on WHEELING, Wnsr vIneINIA, AssIGNoR To scIIIoK WHEELANI) TIRE co., A conPoaaTIoN or Wnsr VIRGINIA.

VEHICLE-WEEE L. Y

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenten oet. ai, wie.

Application filed August 27, 1912. Serial No. 717,460.

T 0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ADOLPH SCI-110K, citizen of the United States,residing at Wheeling, in the county of Ohio and State of West Virginia,have invented cert-ainy new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Wheels,of which the following is a specification, reference being had thereinto the accompanying drawing.

This invention relatesto an improvement in what is now known in the artsas Vspring wheels. Y

The invention pertains more particularly to awheel wherein asubstantially rigid rim member is connectedto and supported fromthehubmember by yielding spoke members and such spokes are in partA ofcoiled spring formation.

In the class of wheels, it is'` recognized that simplicity` instructure, plus a minimum number of parts isa desideratum to beappreeiated and sought for.

The aim andpurpose of` my present in-A vention is to construct a wheelwherein the parts vwill be relatively few in number and so associatedask to render the wheel strong and durable, while adapted for receivingnot only torsional, Ibut also side strains withoutcollapsing or breakingdown. n

Oneof the objects of theinvention is to provide a spring wheel of thecharacter above indicated wherein the spring.V spoke members can be veryreadily removed and` replaced without the assistance of a skilledmechanic and without the employment of other tools than a wrench.

A further objectk of the invention is to provide a construction whereinthe spoke members are properly supported and reinforced at the weakerpoints thereof, not only against lateral, but alsoagainst longitudinalstrains, and finally, the main object of the invention is to provideaspring wheel which` ywill satisfactorily meet the requirementsofservice, be simple in construction and inexpensive, and which willpossess the minimum number of parts.

In my Patent No. 10191921of-March: 5, 1912, I have shown a type of wheellsimilar 50 tothe/one presently-to be described. It is found, however,that a construction such as shownin the-said patent had-pointsoffweakand that also it1 was somewhat difficult tore-- place brokenspokes with new ones. In my present construction the. aim has been toovercome the objections found in the previous structure. a Y

. In the accompanying drawings there is illustrated an embodiment of theinvention,

but it is to be understood that many ,minor changes can be made withoutdeparting from the naturerand principle thereof.

In the drawings: yFigure l represents in elevation a wheel embodying.;the invention showing parts broken away; Fig. 2 is a lonr section, Figs.

o, 6, 7 and 8 are elevations and plans of the spoke member showing parts,broken away, Fig. 9 is adetailview of a modiiied form of hub part, andFig. 10 is a longitudinal section through the rim.

InV the drawing-s A represents the tire member which in thisy connectionis shown as a solid rubber tire, although any form of tirevinay beemployed. The tire A. is'

.secured in a rim comprising conveniently a channel member-VB, having.its flanges eX'- -tending outward. VThese iianges are rabbeted at theirinner edges and support thereon the tire supporting band 0n each sideof' the channel member B arel the clampingy imembers C having the usualhook-,shaped `:outer edges and fiat inner edges embracing f closely theouter facesof the fianged rim B, as shown in Fig. 2. To maintain theclamping rings inposition, suitable boltsv C arey employed which passthrough the flanges of.

the clampingV plates and the. outstandingchannel member. 'Io addrigidity to the structure and to reducevibration, suitable wooden blocksare placedy in the channel rim, as at C2, the same spanning the interiorand abuttingrespectively the inner faces'of. the outstanding fianges.VThey bolts C pass through. theblocks, and as'fthe bolts are tensionedthrough the'- nut o'nrtheir ends, as shown, the parts are firmly clampedtogether and retained'in place. Y Y

D represents the' hub member whichVis Ico conveniently in the-form. of acasting, al-v though pressed metal. parts may be employedi The hub isprovided with a series of radial arms Dwhich arms are offtaperedlformation and have formed in their outer faces spoke seats D. The armsare spaced apart and thoseon one face of; the hubf arearranged on aplane intermediate those of the other face for purposes presently to bedescribed. I have found in practice that sixteen arms and spokes aresufficient to produce a wheel having the proper rigidity but desire itunderstood that any convenient number can be employed.

E designates the spoke member, the same being in the form of a barhaving its central portion coiled to constitute a spring E. The coils ofthe spring are spaced apart so that the spring can compress as well aseX- pand and the end parts of the spring are bent inward toward the axisof the coil as shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The ends of the bar above andbelow the coil are conveniently extended outward and are providedsubstantially throughout with a reinforcing sleeve e. These sleeves areconveniently7 driven onto the stem prior to their being bent into theposition shown and are there secured in any convenient manner, formingsubstantially a complete reinforcement throughout the entire stem. Thisreinforcement is important, especially at the bend, which I haveascertained is the weakest part of the spoke, and in that particular itmay be stated that the same parts are reinforced or strengthened fromthe coiled parts of the spoke. The outer stems are conveniently threadedwhile the ends of the inner stem parts are turned at right angles, as ate and threaded as shown particularly in Figs. 2, 5 and 6. rIhe length ofthe stems of the spokes is substantially the length of the grooves D ofthe hub and the angle ends e are passed through openings in the hub armslocated adjacent the inner ends of the seats D', as shown at e2. Theyare there provided with nuts e3 and, owing to the position of the hubarm with relation to the other outwardly disposed arms, it will readilybe seen that access can be had to the nuts c3 and by the employment of awrench the nuts can be readily removed. The outer stems of the spokesare as stated, threaded, and are received in internally threaded nip-Vples F. rFliese nipples have wrench holds f at their inner ends andsubstantially fiat bearing heads f at their outer ends. The nipples arealso provided with threads on their outer surfaces upon which may bemounted a jam nut f2.

In Figs. 7 and 8 the ends of the spokes E are shown as projectedinwardly intermediate the circle of the coils and the center thereof. Ihave also shown the stems as being conveniently arranged diagonallyopposite each other as best illustrated in Fig. 5 so that the line ofvertical stress will be directed somewhat diagonally from the rim at oneside to the hub at the opposite side. The various spokes are arranged inthat particular alternate so that side thrusts upon the wheel areresisted not only by the natural or normal spring resistance, but alsoby the direct pulling resistance of the spring as referred to in myaforementioned patent.

In assembling the parts I have found it convenient to so position thespoke arm with relation to the inner stem of the spoke that the upperedge of the seat D will bear against the reinforcing part et of thestem. This arrangement adords a very substantial support for the spokeand serves also as a means for strengthening the connection between thespoke and t-he hub. I have also found it convenient to employ U-clipspassing through eyes Z2 in the outer ends of the spoke arms andembracing a stem of the spokes. This latter feature, however, may beomitted and a construction similar to that shown in Fig. 9 employedwherein the outer ends of the spoke arms are provided with ears Zt whichserve to prevent the spokes from escaping from the spoke seats D.

A wheel constructed as above described possesses the characteristic ofhaving a minimum number of parts and the required rigidity. Should aspring spoke crack, it is only necessary for the operator to relieve thetension under which the springs are normally placed by applying hiswrench to the nipple part F and turning the same in its seat in thechannel rim, thus unscrewing the other stem of the spoke and then byremoving the nut e3 from the inner end of the spoke and the clip memberthe entire spoke can be removed. It will be observed that the nipple isa fixed part of the wheel and has its head seated in the channel memberof the rim while its portion directly below in the hub is free to movein the aperture formed in the rim. In replacing the spoke it is onlynecessary to insert the end of the outer stem in the nipple, turn thenipple sufficiently to draw the spoke outward until its bent inner endis in substantial alinement with the aperture at the base of the spokeseat. The bent end is then forced through the aperture and the nutapplied thereto. By the use of a wrench it is now only necessary torotate the nipple, drawing the spoke end up into the rim or nipple untilthe spoke is under proper tension. The set nut f2 can then be tightenedonto the rim and the spoke is secured iiXedly in its proper position andunder proper tension.

The construction described may be modilied somewhat in various detailswithout departing from the invention defined in the claims appended.

I claim 1. In a spring wheel, the combination with a rim member and ahub member, of a series of spokes connecting the two members providedwith intermediate coiled portions, and with outer stem parts, said stemparts and the adjacent portions of the coils being of Y greater diameterthan the central part of spring spokes, provided withv outwardlyextending stems, reinforcements for the stems of the spokes extendingsubstantially throughout .the length of the stems and the adjacentportion of the coiled part of the spoke, and means for detachablysecuring the spokes to the frame and hub.

3. In a spring wheel, the combination with a rim, of a hub having aseries of radial laterally spaced arms at opposite sides thereof, thearms on one side being arranged intermediate the arms of the other side,each arm being provided with a depression in one face thereof forming aspoke seat, spring spokes having their inner Aends secured in ther seatsof the said arms and having threaded outer ends, and adjustableconnections between the threaded outer ends and the said rim.

l 4:. A spoke for spring wheels having a coiled portion, and a stem partextending therefrom, and a tubular reinforcing member inolosing the stempart and a portion of the coiled part of the spoke.

`In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ADOLPH SCHICK.

Witnesses:

CALVIN 'I. MJLANS, PRESTON BACON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

